When comparing Think Python vs Codecademy, the Slant community recommends Codecademy for most people. In the question“What are the best resources to learn Python?”Codecademy is ranked 1st while Think Python is ranked 11th. The most important reason people chose Codecademy is:

Right from the start, users write code. They start small in an environment that has constant feedback and gradually progress to more complex concepts. Users can see code results instantly, giving great feedback.

Pros

Pro

Free versions available

The book is available for free in PDF and HTML formats. A hardcover version can be bought from Amazon.

Pro

Beginner-friendly

Think Python is a free book designed for those with no background in programming. It starts with basic concepts of programming, and is carefully designed to define all terms when they are first used and to develop each new concept in a logical progression. Larger pieces, like recursion and object-oriented programming are divided into a sequence of smaller steps and introduced over the course of several chapters.

Pro

Interactivity

Right from the start, users write code. They start small in an environment that has constant feedback and gradually progress to more complex concepts. Users can see code results instantly, giving great feedback.

Pro

Good editor

Codeacademy has a powerful, beginner-friendly integrated development environment (IDE) that can also be used outside of curriculum.

Pro

Excellent progression

Codeacademy doesn't overwhelm beginners with information. It gives bite-sized information, the bare minimum needed to finish a task and get to the next one. As the course progresses, it slowly fills in background information.

Pro

Bite-sized lessons

Each lesson in code-academy focuses on a single concept, and repetition is provided to drill the concept.

Cons

Con

Some missing instructions for absolute beginners

Some exercises sometimes require taking steps that aren't explained. Some functions and commands are used without explaining their purpose.

Con

Lack of context

Codecademy is great for providing a hands-on approach, but there is a lack of context regarding how to start a project in real life. While users may learn how to code using Codecademy's interface, they may not have any idea how to code independently.

Con

Buggy

Codecademy is known to have many bugs which interfere with the editor, resulting in error messages despite having the correct answer.

Con

Not the best structure for quick refreshers

The content of the lessons is aimed very much at people just starting to learn how to code. This is perfect for beginners but if you want to use Codecademy to refresh your knowledge the lessons are not designed to be quickly done.

Con

Allows infinite loops to run

If you run an infinite loop, the browser freezes. Many other similar websites will give you an error, preventing the loop from running. Though not a bug, the lack of feature to stop infinite loops from running can be quite frustrating to beginners.

Con

Deleted a lot of content

A lot of free content has been taken away, for example the PHP course was removed from the site.